Khaled Mashaal in Gaza (file)
Khaled Mashaal in Gaza (file)Reuters

Hamas's Qatar-based political bureau chief Khaled Mashaal on Thursday vowed that his terrorist organization would not agree to Israel's demands for a disarmament of Gaza.

"The weapons of the resistance are sacred and we will not accept that they be on the agenda" of continuing negotiations with Israel to be held in under a month, Mashaal said in Doha. "The issue is not up for negotiations. No one can disarm Hamas and its resistance."

The call for a disarmament is the lone demand Israel made in the ceasefire deal Tuesday, and will be discussed in a month along with Hamas's demands for a sea and airport, as well as a swap of terrorists for the bodies of two fallen IDF soldiers.

Mashaal went on to make an outrageous comparison, saying "the enemy (Israel) harmed everyone - women, children and the elderly, those who sought shelter at UNRWA schools and hospitals. The enemy leaders committed a Holocaust double that of (Nazi leader Adolf) Hitler."

The mention of Hitler comes after Mashaal on Monday likewise compared Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to Hitler, while calling on US President Barack Obama to help "lift the siege" on Gaza.

Mashaal's claims regarding Israel's targeting of UNRWA schools and hospitals ignore the fact that Hamas embedded its terrorists and rocket launchers in hospitals, and used UNRWA facilities as part of its terror war. One UNRWA health clinic was booby-trapped with explosives, killing three IDF soldiers and wounding 7 others, and was also located over terror tunnel openings.

"Every Palestinian man and woman in Gaza, and every free person in the world, takes part in the victory of the resistance," said Mashaal. "Enemy leaders are searching in a telescope for an imaginary victory that they achieved in Gaza to talk about it."

The statement contradicts a report earlier on Thursday saying that Mashaal was strongly opposed to the ceasefire deal and considered it a "Hamas failure."

Mashaal reiterated "commanders of the resistance factions, led by (Hamas's) Al-Qassam Brigades, managed the campaign effectively until reaching a victory against Israel."

"We will rebuild all they have destroyed. That is our job.  And that is the role of the Arab world and of the unity government. Gaza has dazzled the world with her victory," added the Hamas leader.